Workload led the poll
Twenty respondents selected keeping up with the workload, equivalent to 48%.
Indicative student poll
What is your biggest worry going into the next academic year?
Keeping up with the workload was the most selected answer at 48%, while mental health and finding a job afterwards were tied at 26% each. Rent and bills received no responses.
How did students answer?
Respondents selected one option from four. Percentages are calculated from 42 responses and rounded to whole numbers.
Keeping up with the workload20 responses
48%My mental health11 responses
26%Finding a job afterwards11 responses
26%Affording rent and bills0 responses
0%What does this result suggest?
Academic pressure was the largest single concern in this sample, but wellbeing and future employment together accounted for just over half of all responses.
Mental health was significant
Eleven respondents, or 26%, selected their mental health.
Career concerns matched wellbeing
Eleven respondents also selected finding a job afterwards, while rent and bills received no responses.
Why this result matters
The result suggests that respondents were carrying a mix of immediate academic pressure and longer-term wellbeing or career concerns into the new academic year.
Workload leading the poll may reflect anxiety about keeping pace with teaching, deadlines and independent study. Academic pressure can feel particularly uncertain before a new year begins because students may not yet know exactly how demanding their modules or assessments will be.
Mental health and finding a job afterwards were tied at 26%. Together they account for slightly more responses than workload, showing that the concerns in this sample were spread across study, wellbeing and life after university rather than concentrated in one area.
Rent and bills received no responses, but that should not be interpreted as evidence that money is not a concern for students. The question asked for a single biggest worry, so someone could still be worried about finances while prioritising workload, mental health or employment.
With 42 responses, the poll is still indicative rather than representative. Further research could ask students to rate several concerns separately and track whether priorities change at the start, middle and end of the academic year.
How to report this finding
“48% of respondents to an indicative Unifresher Instagram poll said keeping up with the workload was their biggest worry going into the next academic year.”
How was this poll collected?
This was a quick audience poll designed to provide an indicative snapshot from people reached through the Unifresher Instagram audience.
- Exact question
- What is your biggest worry going into the next academic year?
- Answer options
- Affording rent and bills; Keeping up with the workload; My mental health; Finding a job afterwards
- Responses
- 42 total responses. Raw counts are shown alongside every percentage.
- Audience
- People who viewed and responded to the poll through the Unifresher Instagram audience.
- Collection method
- Unifresher Instagram Stories. Respondents selected one of four fixed answer options.
- Calculation
- Percentages were calculated directly from the raw response totals and rounded to whole numbers. No weighting or adjustment was applied.
- Verification
- The four response counts were checked against the stated total of 42 responses before publication.
- Representation
- Indicative audience poll. The result reflects respondents to this Unifresher poll and is not statistically representative of all UK university students.
- Editorial independence
- No commercial partner directed or influenced the question, answer options, analysis or interpretation shown on this page.
- Reuse and licensing
- Published aggregate findings may be quoted with attribution. Contact the Unifresher press team before republishing a full chart, graphic or substantial extract. See Data Hub reuse and citation guidance.
Cite this result
48% of respondents said keeping up with the workload was their biggest worry going into the next academic year. Source: Unifresher Next Academic Year Worries Poll, 2026. 42 responses via Instagram Stories, collected 10 August 2026. Indicative poll. unifresher.co.uk/data-hub
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